Both Marlowe and Will Shakespeare have roles in this adventure, which reminded me to look up a lot of the other characters, like Topcliffe and Heneage, to see who’s real and who’s fictitious. They’re both real, as are a surprising number of others, which is what’s so enjoyable about good historical fiction. Alistair's mother Alice was an empathetic character and the prose gave heft to her alarming plight. Dr Nell Ward is an ecologist. While surveying an old manor house for evidence of bats and other protected flora and fauna she comes within a few feet of the murder of a young woman. When Nell falls under suspicion, having made an appointment to see the victim later that day, being at the murder scene, and having (for very good reasons) covered up the entrance to the tunnel in which the murder occured, she knows that she must clear her own name. Also, it seems that Nell's professional expertise will be needed to identify the murderer.

A Murder of Crows: A thrilling new cosy crime series perfect A Murder of Crows: A thrilling new cosy crime series perfect

A Murder of Crows was an enjoyable read, revolving around a British ecologist’s efforts to extricate herself from suspicion of murder. It is when Dodd meets Sir Robert’s parents that he thinks of Carey’s “wild streak”, and I have to say, I was happy to meet them, too. Much of the action takes place on or around (or in) the Thames. The crowding and filth of the city is well described.DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Embla Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Murder of Crows by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. Although not original, the title and book description looked interesting enough for me to grab a copy. Sophie had a meeting scheduled with ecologist Dr Nell Ward on the afternoon she died, but never turned up. Nell had spent all day doing a survey of Manor Park Farm, and was somewhere in that tunnel when Sophie was murdered, so now she’s a suspect. It was the intended bequest of Sophie’s grandmother Marjorie Crows that would allow her to build her longed-for centre. Together with her solicitor, Andrew Arden, this fit and healthy elderly woman, living at Applewood Residential Care Home, was determined to thwart David’s plans. So when Marjorie is suddenly rushed to hospital, James and his team suspect foul play.

Mike’s review of A Murder of Crows - Goodreads

A Murder Of Crows is a literary crime novel with a beautifully dark and sinister tone to it, within a small claustrophobic setting which is descriptively immersive – I fell into it and didn’t really look up until I was done. Alistair Smith and Caroline Baker are the missing couple, and after a search takes place it becomes clear that foul play has taken place. I also found myself invested in a love triangle for the first time in a long time… well, invested in one side of it. I really enjoyed some of the scenes between Nel and her colleague, Adam (later known as Rav). Their banter was fun and there were some cute, tender moments between them. In the last quarter or maybe third of the book, the miscommunication trope comes out in full force, which is a bit disappointing, but I’m hoping they will get themselves sorted out and have a grown-up conversation in book two. I'd recommend A Murder of Crows to readers who enjoy cosy mysteries with a touch of will they-or-won't they romance, especially readers with an interest in ecology and the environment as a subplot. I'm intrigued to hear that Sarah Yarwood-Lovett already has two additional books featuring Dr. Nell Ward scheduled for future publication, and will be interested to read them on release.

Games

I listened to Ian Skewis narrate this book which I think certainly added to the experience. His mellifluous Scottish voice is perfectly suited to a tale set on the west coast of Scotland. A Murder of Crows is a 1998 American psychological thriller film directed and written by Rowdy Herrington and starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Berenger. [1] It was released in the UK on 12 December 1998, and in the USA on 6 July 1999. I enjoyed this read, but once the murderer is exposed there's a little too much after story. I believe that this is the first in a proposed series, so perhaps the author is just setting the stage for what is to come. Time will tell. It was evident from the moment I opened Ian Skewis’s debut novel ‘A Murder of Crows’ that he posses an enviable flair for descriptive and lyrical prose. It takes real skill to make language so seemingly tangible that it can surround and consume a reader but, somehow, he does. Some may criticise that he does not say in ten words that which he can say in a hundred but I would assure them those words are not wasted; they add a glorious depth and texture to his book.

A Murder of Crows By Sarah Yarwood-Lovett |The Works

It was a good read in a novel where we appeared to have two good 'guys'. The first was Nell the ecologist with much to keep secret and the other was James a Detective Sergeant who was given his first lead in a murder case for which Nell was prime suspect. To further complicate matters was there a spark of something between them? The silence at the end of the line convinced Nell that he had gone and it wouldn't be rude to hang up. But as her thumb reached the button, Adam swore through the phone.

The police focus on Jerome as their chief suspect, but are not able to prove anything. We learn that a large pool of blood is found by police, but where did it come from? Perhaps Alice knows. But Alice can’t remember. The plot is extremely convoluted. The story contains a number of inconsistencies. Much of the writing seemed stilted to me, with odd adjectives and adverbs used such as: “He smiled witheringly . . . “ How does one smile “witheringly”? Despite those quibbles, I found myself looking for more opportunities to listen to the book rather than read my physical one. I got home from work one evening and immediately cleaned the kitchen! The story was engaging and of course, Kristen Atherton’s excellent narration helped. I was listening to it through my library’s digital loans app, and it was the first time in a long time I didn’t need to extend a loan beyond the initial 14-day period. Sometimes the collective noun applied to a particular bird was a marker of rank. Berners gave a list of which birds were suitable for hunting based on one's station in life, and the names for those groups were also class-specifics. So hawks came in casts, for two kept in a nobleman's hawking tower, or leashes, for three kept in a tower. Cast was used to mark technique: Berners notes that one should always cast a hawk at prey, and never let it fly. And a leash of hawks was modeled on the name for a group of hunting greyhounds, another animal favored by the gentry. There are also several surprises throughout the book - a couple times I actually gasped out loud. They were pretty juicy.